BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 19
By Zeyni Jafarov - Trend:
Taking into account the important role of transportation in the Azerbaijani economy, the government intends to further improve the road network to improve quality and capacity, Trend reports on Feb. 19 referring to the World Bank (WB).
The share of cargo transportation by vehicles in Azerbaijan has increased from 48 percent to 65 percent starting from 2008 and covering the following 10 years.
The Azerbaijani government has launched a large-scale program for the reconstruction of the main highways since early 2000. The main attention was paid to the reconstruction of the highway from Baku to the border with Georgia, from Baku to the Russian border and from Alat to the border with Iran.
The WB is also considering the issue of financing another project in Azerbaijan. Thus, the WB plans to issue a loan to Azerbaijan within the Regional Connectivity and Development Project.
The estimated financing from the WB is estimated at $65 million. A big part of the loan is planned to be used for the reconstruction of the Salyan-Bilasuvar highway.
The WB has allocated a loan worth $1.1 billion to Azerbaijan for three projects to reconstruct trunk roads since 2001.
Azerbaijan has been cooperating with the WB since 1992. To date, the WB has allocated the loans to Azerbaijan totaling $3.5 billion for the implementation of more than 50 projects. Thus, Azerbaijan entered the list of 20 most reforming countries according to the WB in 2019.
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